1. Myanmar (Burma)

Only a few years ago, Myanmar was looking ripe for revolution, until the ruling military junta brutally cracked down on protesters and sent thousands to prison. Not long after, the leader of the opposition, Nobel Peace Prize-winning Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested — again — by the government under dubious charges. Suu Kyi called for tourists to boycott the country, claiming tourism helped prop up the brutal ruling party.

However, after April’s "free, fair and transparent" elections, Suu Kyi won herself a seat in parliament and has advocated "responsible tourism." Travelers are now flocking to this formerly isolated country in droves. They come to see the sun set over 4,000 Buddhist temples on the plains of Bagan, the floating villages of Inle Lake, the blinding gold Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and the whirlpool of Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian cultures. Kipling called what was then Burma "unlike any place you know about." Ol’ Rudyard was on to something.

Adam bought his first car later in life than most and felt a need to make up for all those miles he never spent shuttling around mooching friends in high school. He set out in his first set of wheels to drive around the world. Follow his adventures via his blog, overlandtoaustralia.com.